1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates generally to medical instruments for use in removing objects from inside small, confined and sensitive areas of the human body. In particular, the present invention relates to medical instruments suitable for grasping and removing foreign bodies from the ear or nose canal.
2. Background
A problem frequently encountered by doctors, nurses and emergency personnel, such as emergency medical technicians and the like, is the need to remove foreign bodies that have become lodged in the ear or nose canal. For various reasons, foreign bodies become stuck inside the ear or nose canal and have to be removed by medical personnel. Often the patients who have a need for removal of a foreign body from the ear or nose canal are children who have placed small objects inside their ear or nose. Although the ear and nose canal are very small, a large variety of foreign bodies of varying sizes are removed by medical personnel on an almost daily basis. Due to the small size of the ear and nose canal, there is not much room for medical personnel to manipulate a device inside the canal to grasp and remove a foreign body that is stuck therein. Further compounding the difficulty in removing such foreign bodies is the fact that both the ear and nose canals are relatively sensitive parts of the human body. Needless to say, patients who have a foreign body stuck inside their ear or nose canal tend to be very agitated and anxious regarding its removal, thereby making retrieval of the foreign body even more difficult. This problem is particularly acute in the case of small children.
The current, generally accepted procedure to remove a foreign body from an ear or nose canal consists of using alligator forceps and/or ear loops to remove the item. These devices require visualization of the foreign body during the manipulation of the device inside the ear or nose canal. In addition, because of the relative size and shape of these devices, they do not work well with foreign bodies that are smooth and tightly fitted against the ear or nose canal wall (i.e., such as pellets or BBS). The difficultly with visualization is compounded when the patient is unable or unwilling to remain still during the removal procedure. If the foreign body is not able to be removed by current devices, the patient generally must have surgery to remove the foreign body.
3. Related Art
A number of related art devices exist that are used for grasping and retrieving objects of various sizes and types. Such devices include U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,143 to Nast, U.S. Pat. No. 2,116,651 to Ackerson, U.S. Pat. No. 1,350,123 to Theodore and U.S. Pat. No. 394,550 to Ansley. None of these related art devices solve the problems identified above, which are solved by the present invention. Each of the aforementioned patents present object retrieval devices that are not suitable for use in removing foreign bodies from the ear or nose canal. As such, the inventions set forth in the aforementioned patents, or any derivations thereof, are generally not utilized by medical personnel to remove foreign bodies from the ear or nose canal.
The Nast patent discloses a pick-up tool having a reciprocating means, magnetic device and gripping mechanism that is designed to be utilized by mechanics for the retrieval of small objects from confined places. The Nast device provides sufficient extension control and gripping to grasp metallic items. However, the device is neither sized nor designed to operate inside the ear or nose canal. The Ackerson patent discloses tongs that are primarily designed to grab and retrieve cherries, olives and similar objects from inside a jar or bottle. The Theodore patent discloses an article handler that attaches to devices suitable for clamping on to and retrieving articles off of shelves. The Ansley patent discloses a fruit picker that is suitable for picking fruit off of trees. As with the Nast patent, the Ackerson, Theodore and Ansley patents disclose devices that are suitable for the purposes of their respective designs, but which are not suitable for use to retrieve foreign bodies from within the confined, sensitive area of the nose or ear canal.